Assassination of José Calvo Sotelo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Assassination of José Calvo Sotelo |
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| Part of the prelude to the Spanish Civil War | |
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A sculptural portrait of Calvo Sotelo in the monument dedicated to him erected by the Franco dictatorship in 1960 in the Plaza de Castilla in Madrid
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| Location | Madrid, Spanish Republic |
| Date | July 13, 1936 |
| Target | José Calvo Sotelo |
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Attack type
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Assassination |
| Deaths | 1 (Calvo Sotelo) |
| Assailants | Cuerpo de Seguridad y Asalto |
| Motive | Assassination of José Castillo |
The assassination of José Calvo Sotelo took place in Madrid, Spain, in the early morning of Monday, July 13, 1936, during the Second Spanish Republic. Calvo Sotelo was the most prominent leader of the opposition. He was among 384 people assassinated between February and July 1936 in the wave of political violence that broke out in Spain after the triumph of the Popular Front in the February 1936 elections.
The news of the assassination of Calvo Sotelo caused an enormous commotion not only because of the event itself but also because the perpetrators of the assassination were members of the security forces who had Socialist militants as assistants (one of them was Indalecio Prieto's bodyguard) and as chief the Civil Guard Captain Condés, also linked to the PSOE. However, what probably caused an even greater impact was the lack of response from the government of the Popular Front, which was led by Santiago Casares Quiroga, and of the President of the Republic, Manuel Azaña.
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On the other hand, the assassination of Calvo Sotelo and its circumstances led many military men, who were still hesitant or indifferent, to join the conspiracy against the government that had been brewing since April under the leadership of General Mola which, only four days after the assassination of the monarchist leader, would lead to the coup d'état of July 1936, whose partial failure triggered the Spanish Civil War. The victors in the war proclaimed Calvo Sotelo as the "protomartyr" of their "Liberation Crusade". Monuments were erected in his honour (the most important one, located in Madrid's Plaza de Castilla, was personally inaugurated by Generalissimo Franco in 1960) and in practically all Spanish cities, a street or a square was dedicated to him. A state-owned INI company founded in 1942 was named after him.
See also
In Spanish: Asesinato de Calvo Sotelo para niños
